hello all,
I will be shooting anamorphic for an upcoming commercial in vancouver (finishing for TV). For convenience and budget reasons the production would like me to use clairmont's anamorphic choices (hawk or A lenses?). Now I love clairmont, and they have been very good to me over the years, but all I've heard from other DP's is that the panavision C or E series are the only ones to use. I would love to get some feedback on this from anyone with experience with this format. Also seeing it will be my first time using this format, if there are any pitfalls I should avoid that I may not be aware through basic research (ASC manual etc...) please feel free to offer advice,
thanks in advance,
marc laliberte else

There is no "only ones to use". Panavision are the newest, most technologically advanced but does that mean the look of other lenses are worthless or even less desirable? I keep hearing all the time how cool the look of lenses from yesterday are, how they have great qualities todays lenses don't have and create a look that stands apart from the herd. I know These other lenses aren't old but still the principal applies. So sure, listen to the advice of other credible people but make your own decisions, I mean don't you want your own unique artistic statement reflected in your work rather than some cookiecutter in vogue look that everyone else is using because it happen to be the latest craze and is all the rage....for the next 10 minutes and is in reality nothing more than pale copies of someone else's unique style? Maybe something to think about.

If you're using anamorphic lenses for the classic artifacts from shooting them at wide apertures, then you don't necessarily want the latest and newest, which is why a lot of people like older C-Series Panavision anamorphics.

Anyway, the Hawks should be fine... but you should take a look at them to make sure they provide the artifacts you want.

One pitfall: look to see what the minimal focus is on your lenses, especially the ones you want to shoot close-ups on.

If you're using anamorphic lenses for the classic artifacts from shooting them at wide apertures, then you don't necessarily want the latest and newest, which is why a lot of people like older C-Series Panavision anamorphics.

Anyway, the Hawks should be fine... but you should take a look at them to make sure they provide the artifacts you want.

One pitfall: look to see what the minimal focus is on your lenses, especially the ones you want to shoot close-ups on.

If you're using anamorphic lenses for the classic artifacts from shooting them at wide apertures, then you don't necessarily want the latest and newest, which is why a lot of people like older C-Series Panavision anamorphics.

Anyway, the Hawks should be fine... but you should take a look at them to make sure they provide the artifacts you want.

One pitfall: look to see what the minimal focus is on your lenses, especially the ones you want to shoot close-ups on.